The Heavens really was not fair to them. They all could do nothing about their sorrow and sadness.
There were many unfair things in this world anyway.
Fortunately, beside the Heavens, there was still LaoBo.
LaoBo had never disappointed them.

* * *

The meaning of “LaoBo” was not only “Uncle,” these two words meant more than that.

{NOTE: In Chinese, “Lao” means old, and “Bo” means uncle. In the story, LaoBo is just a nickname and it contains two words in Chinese.}

In the hearts of many people, they symbolized a type of kindness, a type of intimidation, and a type of trust.
They knew that no matter what kind of problem they had, LaoBo would always solve it for them. No matter how much they were wronged, LaoBo would always retaliate for them.
They respected him, trusted him, just like a son trusted his father.
He helped them, loved them and asked for nothing in return.
But all he had to do was to say the word, and they would be willing to give everything for him.

* * *

When Fang YouPing came home, he was already drunk.
He could neither remember where he drank, nor how he got home.
If he was sober, he would have never came home.
He used to have a cozy home; yet seven months ago, this home became a hell.
The servants were all asleep, he had found half a cup of left-over wine.
He began to vomit before he even took a sip, and vomited on the Persian carpet that he bought for three thousand silver taels.
He felt a lot more sober after vomiting. But he did not want to be sober.
He would have gone mad if he was sober.
He had both money and fame. A person with money and fame, usually have a very beautiful wife.
Not only was his wife beautiful, she was so beautiful that it was intolerable. He could not tolerate those greedy expressions in men’s eyes when they saw his wife.
He hated it so much that he wanted to dig out these men’s eyes.
But she liked it.
She liked having men looking at her, and she also liked to look at those greedy expressions in men.
Although she seemed ice-cold on the outside, he knew that on the inside, she was probably considering sleeping with these men.
He knew that before she was married to him, she had already slept with many men.
On their wedding night, he wanted so desperately to strangle her. Yet every time he looked into her big sparkling eyes and her petite beautiful mouth, his outstretched hands, which were intended to strangle her, would hug her closely. He himself, would lie on her chest, crying.
He would never know how many other men she had slept with.
He only knew one.

* * *

No one was in bed, this meant that she was still in bed with that man.
Fang YouPing entered the hall, found another cup of wine, and sat down in front of the door. He continued to drink non-stop, until he heard the sound of clothing fluttering in the wind outside the windows.
Before Zhu Qing married him, she was a very famous flying thief. Her levitation martial arts was even more famous than that of Fang YouPing.
Of course, now she no longer needed to steal. Yet levitation martial arts still provided her with a lot of assistance, she could slip out of her windows at any time to steal.
Of course, now she did not need to steal anything else, she only stole men.
The candle was almost burned up, but its flame was still very bright. She suddenly appeared in front of him, stood in front of him, looked at him with her head dropped, looked at him with a disdainful expression in her eyes.
Her face was pale, her eyes pitch-black, her expression was cold yet elegant. She resembled a chaste widow. No one would ever be able to guess what she had just done.

Fang YouPing asked, “What were you doing out?”

He obviously knew the answer, yet he still had to ask.

The look in Zhu Qing’s eyes was more disdainful. She coldly replied, “Looking for someone.”

Fang YouPing asked, “Who were you looking for?”

Zhu Qing said, “Of course I was looking for Mao Wei.”

Mao Wei. There was not a single person in the town who did not know Mao Wei. Mao Wei owned more properties than half of the town combined, Mao Wei played more women than others had seen.
Out of ten people, there were at least six whose clothing were bought from Mao Wei’s silk store, and the rice they ate were also bought from Mao Wei’s rice store.
Anywhere you go, you could be stepping on Mao Wei’s land. Any woman you saw could be one who had been played by Mao Wei.
Here, no matter what you did, it could have some connection to Mao Wei.

Fang YouPing’s face was distorting, “Mao Wei. What … what were you doing looking for him again?”

Zhu Qing said, “You want to know what I did, don’t you?”

Her eyes suddenly had a charming, teasing look. Her pale face was blushing. She bit her lip, “He also drinks. But he’s not like you, he can do it even when he’s drunk.”

Fang YouPing suddenly jumped up and grabbed her neck, he said hoarsely, “I’m gonna kill you!”

Zhu Qing suddenly laughed, she said giggly, “Go ahead. You only have the ability to kill me. If you dared to kill him, then I’d respect you.”

Fang YouPing dared not to; even when he was drunk he did not dare to.
His hands loosened and shook. But when he saw that cold, disdainful smile on her face, he clenched his fists again.

Zhu Qing screamed, “Not on my face …!”

She was screaming, but she was not afraid.
She was still laughing.
His fist hit her stomach. She fell backwards, yet wrapped her hands around his neck and he fell down with her. He fell on top of her. She let him smell the sweet fragrance on her body. He was still hitting her soft chest and thighs.
Yet his hits were so soft that she was giggling from it. Her long legs twisted along with her laughter, her long dress coiled up and eventually showed her white, smooth legs.
Fang YouPing was panting like an ox.

Zhu Qing separated her legs and laughed, “Come. I know what you really want is this. Although I’ve already kept him company, I can still keep you company. I don’t have to use up energy when keeping you company.”

Fang YouPing suddenly collapsed and could do nothing about it.
He could not even try. All he had left was to roll off of her, and rolled back to the place where he had vomited before.
He still wanted to vomit, yet could not. He could only cry.

Zhu Qing slowly stood up and gently stroked her messed up hair.
In a blink of an eye, she changed from a strumpet to a lady. She looked at him coldly, “I know that you can’t do it when you’re drunk. I need to sleep, don’t come bother me. I need to have enough rest, so I’ll have enough energy when I go see him tomorrow!”

She turned around and slowly walked into the bedroom, she said coldly, “Unless you kill him, I’ll go see him every day!”

He heard the sound of the door being closed and locked.
He continued to cry until he thought of a person who could help him, who could save him!

“LaoBo …”

The second he thought of this person, he suddenly felt calm; because he knew that LaoBo would solve everything for him.
Only LaoBo, no one else.

* * *

Old Man Zhang stood next to the bed and looked at his beautiful daughter, tears continued to flow out of his eyes.
He was a poor, lonely old man. His entire life he silently ploughed fields for someone else, the harvest also belonged to someone else. Only this daughter was his greatest comfort, and also his life.
Yet now, his treasure had been tortured so much, that her form was unrecognizable.
Ever since she came back yesterday evening, she was in a coma and did not wake up.
When she returned, her clothes were ripped to pieces, her soft, white skin was black and blue, her body tainted with blood. Her right eye was swollen, and her beautiful, round chin was shattered.
Whatever she went through last night, he could not think about it, did not have the heart to think about it, and dared not to think about it.
When she left to fetch some water, she was still so innocent, so happy and was filled with wonderful dreams about life. Yet when she came back, life turned into a nightmare.
Before she fell down, she said two names.
Two bastards.
He wanted to strangle them with his own hands.
Of course, he could not do so.
Jiang Feng and Jiang Ping were the beloved ones of the Xu Fortress. Their father was the fortress owner Xu QingSong's close friend. They themselves were famous heroes in Jiang Hu. At one time, they killed a huge tiger with their bare hands.
With only his own strength, Old Man Zhang could never have revenge.
But Fortress Owner Xu had always been a fair person. This time, he would definitely help him to seek justice.
Fortress Owner Xu’s expressions darkened, and he stared at the Jiang brothers in front of him. He held his hands up high, as if he wanted to strangle these two youths himself.
Jiang Feng and Jiang Ping hanged their heads very low, and tried their hardest to look afraid. Yet their eyes showed no signs of fear. The younger brother looked at the tip of his shoes – the tip of his shoes had bloodstains.
These boots were imported from the Jing City, he felt bad for them.

“Bastards! Damn bastards! Son of a b*tch!”

Old Man Zhang was shaking from anger. Yet he tried his best to endure it, he believed that Fortress Owner Xu would give them just punishments to make sure that they would never dare to do anything like this ever again.

Xu QingSong’s voice was very stern, “Did you guys do this? Tell the truth!”

Jiang Feng nodded; Jiang Ping also nodded.

Xu QingSong angrily shouted, “I can’t believe that you would do such a thing! Did you forget everything that your father has taught you? I’m your father’s close friend, and I will punish you for him. Are you going to accept it?”

Jiang Feng said, “Yes.”

Xu QingSong’s expression suddenly softened and sighed, “What you did was disgusting. But at least you have the courage to admit it, and did not lie to me. This means that there is still hope. And fortunately, Miss Zhang’s wounds are not so bad …”

Old Man Zhang suddenly felt dizzy, he did not hear a single word of what Xu QingSong said next.

“Her wounds are not so bad …” What then, was bad? Her entire happiness had been destroyed by these two bastards; this kind of scar could never be healed in her life. This is not so bad?

Xu QingSong was saying, “I only ask you, will you anything like this ever again?”

Jiang Feng had a cunning, pleased look in his eyes – he knew that this affair would soon come to an end.

Jiang Feng rushed to say, “No.”

Xu QingSong said, “Taking into account that this is the first time you committed a crime, and you were brave enough to admit you were wrong, I will go easy on the punishmentsthis time. Your punishments will be to do labour work here for seven days. You will be paid three taels each day, and that will be given to Miss Zhang to cover the cost of her recovery.”

Old Man Zhang felt as if the blood was drained from his entire body; he could not keep standing.
Three taels each day, that’s twenty-one taels for seven days. Twenty-one taels for the Jiang brothers were just like a single hair out of nine ox hides. Yet this had bought the entire happiness of his daughter. The Jiang brothers started to walk out, with their heads dropped. When they walked passed him, they could not help but to look at him, their eyes filled with expressions of triumph.
Old Man Zhang had a tough life. No one knew how many attacks, how much torture, and how much abuse he had suffered.
He was already used to other's abuse, and learned to quietly endure it.

But now, he could no longer control himself. He ran over with all his might, grabbed Jiang Feng’s shirt, punched his chest, and hoarsely shouted, “I have twenty-one taels, too! Bring your sisters, I want to …”

Jiang Feng coldly stared at him, and did not move nor hit back.
Old Man Zhang’s punches on his chest was like a dragonfly hitting a stone column.
Two servants came over and grabbed Old Man Zhang’s hands, and lifted his entire body up in the air. He suddenly felt that he was like a monkey on a shelf, having endured other's abuse and tampering for his entire life.

Xu QingSong’s expressions darkened, “If your daughter had not attracted so much attention, the brothers would not have done such a thing! Why did they not do this to other people’s daughters? Your daughter is not the only girl in this fortress!”

He waved his hand and yelled, “Go home fast and lecture your daughter! Stop acting like a fool here!”

* * *

A bitter taste rushed up Old Man Zhang’s throat. He wanted to throw up, but he could not.
He took a rope and fastened it to the ceiling.
He hated himself for being useless, hated himself for not being able to seek just revenge for his own daughter. He could only watch her being wrecked by beasts. He was willing to sacrifice everything to protect his daughter, yet he was completely powerless.

“Death is better than living like this.”

He tied a knot in the rope, and stuck his head through it. Just then, he saw the few pumpkins and the pile of grapes sitting in the corner of the room.
Every year during harvest, he would collect the largest pumpkins and sweetest grapes from the field to give them to a person, to show his love and respect for this person.

“LaoBo.” All the bitterness in his heart disappeared when he thought of this person. Because he knew that this person would seek justice for him.
This was the only person in his life whom he could trust.
Only him, no one else.

* * *

“The Seven Warriors” were seven young, brave, and energetic people.
Only, the did not fully understand the meaning of the word “bravery.”
They said anything they wanted, and did anything they wanted.
They thought that this was bravery, yet they did not know how stupid this kind of bravery was!
The eldest of “The Seven Warriors” was called Tie ChengGang.
Tie ChengGang was totally different from the other six brothers. He was the only one of them who was not an orphan, yet he liked to wander around.

* * *

Autumn was the weather for hunting.
One day, Tie ChangGang and his six brothers went hunting in the Eastern Mountains. They had just captured two deers, one bobcat, and a few hares, when they suddenly discovered that a fire had started from behind the mountain. The fire was very high. Fourth Master Duan’s “Thousand Sceneries Mansion” was situated behind the mountains.
Fourth Master Duan was Tie ChengGang’s uncle.
They hurriedly rushed to the place behind the mountains that was on fire – it was the Thousand Sceneries Mansion.
The fire was very fierce, yet no one came to extinguish it. Where were the seventy or eighty people who lived in the Thousand Sceneries Mansion?
They found the answer to this question as soon as they entered.
All the people from the Thousand Sceneries Mansion – men and women, young and old – all seventy-nine of them had turned into seventy-nine dead bodies!
The Pear Blossom Spear, that Fourth Master Duan often used, was broken into two halves. The tip of the spear was inside his chest!
Yet the shaft of the spear was not in his hands.
His hands were tightly clenched into fists, the veins on the back of his hands popped out like dead snakes.
What was he holding so tightly onto? So tightly that he would not let go even when he was dying?
No one knew. He himself could never have the opportunity to say it. He died unwillingly, with his eyes still open.
Tie ChengGang looked at the distorted face, looked at these eyes that bulged out due to anger and fear. He felt a twisting pain in his heart, and felt his stomach recoiling.
He knelt down, and gently closed his uncle’s eyes. Then he tried to open his hands, yet he could not.
His fists clenched too tightly, his blood was solidified, and his bone marrow hardened.
The fire was coming closer. The flames had baked Tie ChengGang’s pale face into a reddish colour. His hair smelled like burning.

His brothers were yelling! “Let’s go, let’s get out of here first!”

Tie ChengGang gritted his teeth. Suddenly, he pulled out his sabre and cut off his uncle’s hands, and hid them in his pockets.

His brothers wondered again! “If you wanted to see what he was holding onto in his hands, why don’t you just carry his body outside!”

TieChengGang shook his head, “Cremation is very good.”

He never hid anything from his brothers, yet this time, he did not tell them how he felt.
He suddenly had an unlucky premonition. He knew that today, it was not only impossible to carry the dead body outside; whether he could make it out alive himself was questionable. He retreated. His brothers looked at him with amazement, and said, “Are we not going to do anything here?”

Tie ChengGang gritted his teeth, “Do what?”

The brothers said, “Well, firstly, we should at leat find out who the murderers are?”

Tie ChengGang said nothing. He already saw three people appear.
Three Taoists wearing blue robes, their apricot-coloured sword tassels waving behind their backs. Their grey beards were flying in the wind. They resembled three saints who touched no mortal matters. Of course, these three people definitely could not have been the murderers.
Suddenly, Tie ChengGang’s heart sank. Yet his brothers had joyous looks on their faces.

“The Three Friends Of The Huang Mountains are here. As long as these three elders are here, there is no problem that can’t be solved.”

Yi Shi, Yi Yun, Yi Quan were the Three Friends Of The Huang Mountains.
Although they were Taoists, they were not above worldly considerations. Everyone in Jiang Hu knew that they not only had excellent sword skills, but were also fair and just. They were the idols of many young people who wanted to master the sword.
“The Seven Warriors” were no exception. They all bowed to show their respect.
Yi Shi, Yi Yun and Yi Quan all had grave expressions that resembled the shadows of the Huang Mountains in mid-October.

Taoist Yi suddenly said, “How bold you are!”

Taoist Yi Yun’s expressions were serious, “I know that you always act absurdly, but I did not imagine that you dare to do something like this!”

Taoist Yi Shi usually did not speak a lot.
His silence was indeed like a rock, yet harder and colder than a rock.
Six out of the seven warriors had a change in their expressions – it was not fear, but astonishment.

“What did we do? … … This? We did not do this.”

Yi Quan looked angry, “You still dare to lie?”

Yi Yun shouted, “If you did not do this, then who did? You didn’t even clean the blood from your sabres!”

But the sabre was stained with animal blood, not human blood. The Three Friends Of The Huang Mountains had very good eyes, how could they not tell?
Everybody was more astonished, yet Tie ChengGang was very calm.
Because he had already figured out the key in this matter, he already knew that there was no one who would defend them. He did not want to die in an unjust way; he definitely did not want his brothers to die with him. Hence, he must stay calm.

Yi Quan said, “Do you still have anything to say?”

Tie ChengGang suddenly said, “I did all of this. They knew nothing about it!”

Yi Quan said, “You want me to let them go?”

Tie ChengGang said, “As long as you let them go, I won’t say a word. I promise!”

Yi Shi’s irises shrank, “Don’t let a single one go. Kill!”

His sword was faster than his voice!
A flash of the sword and a warrior had already fallen with a dreadful cry.
The Seven Warriors were not like these other sworn brothers. They did not come together because of benefits; they were not friends who only wined and dined together. There was real emotions between them, and real loyalty. When one of them died, the others’ eyes turned red at once.
Although they knew that they are no match for The Three Friends Of The Huang Mountains, yet they were not afraid of death. They were not afraid of anything; they were just a bunch of courageous kinds. They neither understood the significance of life, nor did they understand the dread of death.
Tie ChengGang grew up.
He suddenly turned around, and ran into the flames.
He escaped, not because he was afraid to die, but only because he did not want to die so unjust.
He knew that if he died, “The Seven Warriors” would become the murderers of the “Thousand Sceneries Mansion;” they could never rid themselves of this dishonourable reputation, and the real murderers could be outlaws forever.
He also knew that The Three Friends Of The Huang Mountains would never let him escape; hence, he ran into the flames.

Yi Shi yelled, “Don’t let him go! Go after! I’m more than enough to deal with these five!”

The flash of his sword cut across the air, blood spilled wherever his sword tip touched.
Yi Quan and Yi Yun also ran into the flames. Even though the fire was almost out, it was still very fierce.
Their grey beards caught fire sparks; although they protected themselves using their sword flash, there were still parts of their bodies that caught on fire and smelled like burning.
The Three Friends Of The Huang Mountains had always led lives similar to wild cranes in the clouds, and their postures always resembled that of saints. Never did they appear this battered.
Yet this time, they did not care about anything.
Why did the value Tie ChengGang’s life this much?

Yi Quan said, “Tie ChengGang, did you hear the horrible cries of your brothers? How can you not care for them? What kind of friend are you?”

No response. Only the sound of the flames burning the wood.

Yi Yun could not take it anymore, “How about we get out of here first, it’s not like he can escape.”

Tie ChengGang really could not escape.
If he escaped the fire, then he would not escape the sword tips of The Three Friends Of The Huang Mountains. If he stayed in the flames, he would be burned to death.

* * *

The fire was extinguished.
The Three Friends Of The Huang Mountains began to clean up after the fire. All the bodies have been burned to a crisp.

Yi Shi asked, “How many dead bodies are there?”

Yi Quan replied, “Seventy-nine.”

Yi Shi’s expressions darkened. After a long while, he said word for word, “Tie ChengGang is still not dead.”

Yi Quan nodded, “He is still not dead.”

Yi Shi said, “He can’t not die!”

Yi Quan nodded again, and started to search.
They finally found the hidden passage between the bricks and tiles.

The expressions on Yi Quan’s face looked even worse, he said, “I’m afraid he has already escaped from this passage.”

Yi Yun said, “He is the Fourth Master Duan’s relative. Of course he’s been here before, and therefore he knows about this passage.”

Yi Shi said, “Go after him!”

Yi Quan said, “Of course we’ll go after him. Even if we chased until the edge of the world, we can’t let him escape.”

* * *

Tie ChengGang lied in the dark in the middle of a thorn bush, motionless.
Although his entire body had been punctured, and his wounds were bleeding non-stop; although he had not eaten nor drank anything for two or three days, and he was so hungry that his eyes were becoming dim, so thirsty that his lips were torn.
Yet he dared not to move.
Because he knew that someone was out there chasing and searching. “The Hero Of Hu Lin” Xiao Xung had ordered almost all of his disciples to set out.
Xiao Xung was his father’s good friend.
When Tie ChengGang first escaped here, he wanted to ask him for protection, wanted him to seek justice.
Yet Xiao Xung would rather believe the words of The Three Friends Of The Huang Mountains. If he had not already noticed that Xiao Xung’s expressions were shifty, he would have been killed by the swords of The Three Friends Of The Huang Mountains.
If Xiao Xung did not believe him, then who would?
Who else in Jiang Hu would be willing to offend The Three Friends Of The Huang Mountains in order to protect him?
Tie ChengGang’s face touched the soil; his tears wet the soil.
He did not cry easily, he would rather die than cry, yet now he was so sad that he almost completely gave up hope.
Those two dried, skinny hands were still in his pockets. The hands held the evidence.
Yet he could not take out the evidence to show to other people, because he could not trust anyone.
Others would take these hands to suck up to The Three Friends Of The Huang Mountains; they would destroy this evidence. Then he would die without even a burial! The night winds brought the miserable barks of wild dogs.
Tie ChangGang was like a wild dog: sad, helpless, cold, hungry.
He was not even as good as a wild dog.
He turned around. The stars already rose to the sky, their light as beautiful and magnificent as before.
Starlight often could bring hope to people.
He suddenly thought of a person.

“LaoBo.”

If there was only one person in this world whom he could trust, then this person was LaoBo.
Only him, no one else.

* * *

This was a beautiful place, its sceneries were enchanting, and the grass was green. When you lied here, you could see the verdant mountains, the floating clouds, and you could also see the beautiful fort situated on the mountain underneath the white clouds.
That was an old fort, and was abandoned a long time ago. Over ten years ago, Thousand Roc King re-decorated it.
Thus, this old fort became the head office of the “Twelve Flying Roc Sect.” Sect Leader Thousand Roc King resides in this fort. No one in the martial world dared to invade even a tree in this town.

* * *

Now the flowers had withered, and the grass had turned yellow.
Yet they did not care.
As long as they could be together, they did not care about anything.
Whether the flowers were blooming or withering, whether it was spring or autumn, as long as they were together, they felt satisfied.
They were still young, and in love.
He was only eighteen; he was not much older than she was.
The panting had stopped, the passions had advanced.
He was lying in her bosom; he felt that the wind was very gentle, and the rain was also very gentle.
Her face had a satisfied smile, she was grateful for the beauty and sincerity of life. Yet when she saw that majestic fort on the mountain, her smile immediately disappeared, her eyes were at once filled with pain.

After a long time, she finally faintly sighed and said, “Xiao Wu, you really shouldn’t like me this much, and you really shouldn’t be this good to me.”

{NOTE: “Xiao Wu” in Chinese literally means “Little Wu.” But in English, it just sounds weird, so I left it as “Xiao Wu.”}

Xiao Wu’s hand gently stroked her soft, smooth shoulders, “Why?”

“Because I’m not worth it.”

She blinked, tears had already fallen; she slowly continued, “You know that I’m nothing but someone’s servant. My entire body belongs to someone else. If they wanted me to die, then I can’t live.”

Xiao Wu’s strokes turned into embrace, he gently said, “DaiDai, don’t ever say anything like this. As long as your heart is mine, and my heart is yours, then we don’t have to fear anything.”

His embrace was so tight, so tight that her heart melted.

Yet she still could not help to keep her tears from flowing, she quietly said, “I’m not afraid of anything, except that when one day, someone finds out about our affair.”

Whenever she thought of that day, an indescribable fear rose from her heart, because she once saw her master’s angry look.
Her master was Thousand Roc King.
When Thousand Roc King was angry, no one could stop him.

She turned around, and embraced him tightly, “The Old Master would never let me be together with you. You know how strict he is towards his servants. If he knew about this affair …”

He suddenly sealed her mouth with lips, stopping her from continuing.

Yet his lips were also ice-cold, his body was trembling, “I would never let anyone come to separate us, never …”

He stopped, because he felt that DaiDai’s soft body suddenly became rigid.
He turned around and looked up, and saw Thousand Roc King.

* * *

In many people’s minds, Thousand Roc King was not a person, but a god.
If there really was a god, then Thousand Roc King’s figure was perhaps bigger than a god, his looks were perhaps more stern than a god. Although he was the type of person who did not need to strike, yet lighting and thunder could change the colours of the winds and clouds. Xiao Wu was not a feeble scholar who could not even truss a chicken. He was not only a scholar, but his martial arts was also not bad.
Yet when Thousand Roc King waved out his fist, he could not defend, and could not avoid.
He could even hear the sound of his own bones shattering. When he was in a daze, he heard DaiDai’s fearful cries, and also heard Thousand Roc King’s fearsome voice.

“I know that you’re the son of the Zhen Wu Armed Escorts’s Wu LaoDao. I will spare your life today, because he used to do things for me. But if you dare to come here again next time, I will make sure that five horses will pull apart your body!”

{NOTE: The horse punishment consists of a person being tied to five different horses from different parts of their body (presumably, the arms and legs and neck). Then the horses would each run into different directions, hence pulling the person apart.}

No one had ever doubted the words of Thousand Roc King. If he said he would pull your body apart using five horses, then he would definitely not kill you using a different method. He also would not use only four horses.

“Carry him back, and tell Wu LaoDao, if he wants his son, then make sure that he does not leave the house!”

* * *

From that day forth, Wu LaoDao did not dare to let his son leave the house. He only had one son.
But how could he bear to watch his son become wearier and skinnier from day to day?
He went to beg, to beg Thousand Roc King to let his son marry DaiDai.
The response he received was a slap!
Thousand Roc King rejected others only once, because no one dared to beg him a second time.
When others were harvesting, Xiao Wu’s life was ending.
He did not eat nor drink, did not sleep, did not even wake up. He was just always in a daze, and called out the name of his lover.
Wu LaoDao’s heart shattered when he heard his shouts.
He was willing to sacrifice everything to save his son, yet he was powerless.
He could only watch his son die!
He did not want to live himself.
Just now, he received an invitation from a person. This was a friend he had ever since he was a child. Although their age difference was only a few years, he called this person: “LaoBo.”
These two words are enough to show how much he respects this person.
He only hated himself for not having thought of this person before. This was the only person in the world who could be his son’s saviour.
Only him, no one else.

“LaoBo” was Sun YuBo!
No one really knew what kind of person Sun YuBo was, nor what he was capable of doing.
Yet no matter who had problems, problems they could not solve, they would seek help from him.
He never made excuses, nor made empty promises. If he promised you, then no matter how big the problem, you could put it aside. Because he would never disappoint you.
You needed not to give him any reward, you needed not even to be his old friend.
No matter how lonely and poor you were, he would always keep your problems close to his heart, and thought of ways to solve them for you.
Because he liked to help people achieve their goals, he liked justice. He hated anything that was unjust, just like the way a farmer who wanted a rich harvest hated grasshoppers and other pests.
Although he did not want rewards, he still unconsciously received rewards.
His reward was the friendship and respect of other people, it was the name “LaoBo.”
He liked this name, and was proud of it.

after reading the first chapter, apprently the movie was very faithful in adapting the first chapter and I already watch Godfather (I suppose you mean Marlon Brando godfather) and can't find any similarity. AFAIK the godfather start by the wedding and the return of al pacino - its not about some lady grooming kids to be a perfect killer

after reading the first chapter, apprently the movie was very faithful in adapting the first chapter and I already watch Godfather (I suppose you mean Marlon Brando godfather) and can't find any similarity. AFAIK the godfather start by the wedding and the return of al pacino - its not about some lady grooming kids to be a perfect killer

Besides helping people, LaoBo also liked flowers.
The place he lived in was a sea of flowers, a city of flowers. Different flowers bloomed in every season; he always stayed in the place where the most flowers bloomed.
Now the most gorgeous ones are the blooming chrysanthemums.
Thus, LaoBo received his respected guests in the chrysanthemum garden.
The guests were arriving from all over like the tides. Some brought very splendid gifts, some brought only their mouth and a sincere congratulation.
LaoBo treated them all equally, whether they were poor or rich. Whether they were respected or lowly. If they came, then they were his guests.
He would never let anyone feel desolated.
Especially today, his smile looked even more kind and caring; because today was his birthday.
He was standing in the chrysanthemum garden and receiving his guests.

* * *

Sun YuBo was really not a very tall man; yet everyone who saw him thought that this was the tallest man they have met.
Although he had a pleasant smile, it did not make him look any less dignified. No one would ever show the slightest lack of respect for him; in fact, many people respected him more than their own fathers.
The only person who dared to clash with him was his son Sun Jian.
Sun Jian’s name was originally Sun JianRu, but he thought that the word “Ru” was a bit feminine; hence, he removed the word “Ru.”

{NOTE: “Ru” in Chinese could be combined with other characters to mean luck, etc. Hence, it could be considered feminine by some people, in this case, Sun Jian.}

He did not want to seem even the slightest bit feminine.
Sun Jian definitely was a masculine person. Just like his father, he was not that tall, but still was full of energy.
Like his father, he was also very generous and loyal. He would even give his own clothes to someone else. Yet others treated him in a different manner than they treated his father.
This is because his personality was like the raging flames, and he could break into a fit of anger anytime. Often, his short-temperedness did not only lead to judgement errors, but also made him lose many friends.
It was not that other people did not want to get close to him, it was just that they were intimidated by him.
But women were exceptions.
Although women were also intimidated by him, they could not resist his strong attractiveness. Many women could not help but give themselves to him, just because he looked at them.
Now, Sun Jian was also standing outside the chrysanthemum garden and receiving the honoured guests with his father. He already looked a bit impatient, because he had stood here for a long time.
Fortunately, it was dinner time now, and most of the people who were supposed to be here had arrived.
Among the honoured guests were many strangers – one of them was a plain-clothed, cold-faced young man.
He had brought a gift that was neither too cheap, nor too expensive.
The Sun father and son did not know him. But that did not matter; LaoBo liked friends. His doors were open towards strangers anyway. As long as you came, he would welcome you.
Besides, this strange young man was neither too talkative nor was he annoying. Both father and son thought he was pleasing to the eye. Sun Jian even wanted to be friends with him.
Hence, he looked at the name written on the gift tag – Chen ZhiMing.
A very plain name.

Although he agreed, he did not go ask. It was because more and more guests arrived, and they soon forgot about this matter.
Even if Sun Jian did not forget, he might not have asked.
He did not like Lü XiangChuan; he thought Lü XiangChuan was a bit feminine.
If he knew who this young man really was, and why he was here, then the outcomes might have been totally different. Then all those events that made you burn with indignation, all those events that made you cry a river might not have happened.
This strange young man’s real name was not Chen ZhiMing.
He came here to kill. His target was Sun YuBo.
His real name was Meng XingHun.

* * *

If Sun Jian had asked Lü XiangChuan, then Lü XiangChuan would have found out everything about this strange young man. He would not have let go until he had found out the answers.
Lü XiangChuan was not feminine. But he was more attentive, more careful, and more prudent than any woman.
Him and Sun Jian were two complete opposites.
Their appearances were also completely different.
Sun Jian was a very handsome man with bushy eyebrows and big eyes, his skin has been tanned to a coppery colour. When he stared at you with his eyes, you definitely would not look at anyone else. You also could not look at anyone else.
Yet Lü XiangChuan was a pale-faced, graceful person. Because of that, others often underestimated his abilities, and thought that he was not capable of much. Yet this kind of misjudgement was not only ridiculous, it was terrifying.
Lü XiangChuan was not only Sun YuBo’s strongest helper, but was also one of the three hidden weaponry experts in the martial world. No one in the world could compete with him, especially in the area of triggered hidden weapons.
He never used other weapons; he did not need to.
A man who was adorned with weapons all over his body, a man who could send out hidden weapons anytime, anywhere, and from any angle, did not need to use any other weapons.

* * *

When Sun YuBo saw the pumpkins and grapes in the basket, he knew that Old Man Zhang had arrived.
Every year around this time, Old Man Zhang would not forget to bring the largest pumpkins from his fields.
He worked hard for the whole year; he rarely had any free time, and it was even more rare for him to enjoy. Only when he came here, he could relax and enjoy food and delight that he could not get anywhere else.
Hence, every time he came here, he was always very excited. Yet this time, when he saw Sun YuBo, he was tearful and choking with sobs.
Sun YuBo brought him into his study, and gave him a pipe of tobacco and a cup of wine in order to calm him down.
The study was LaoBo’s private area; no matter what you had to say in here, you needed not to be afraid of others eavesdropping. He brought Old Man Zhang here, because he knew that his old friend had a lot of painful things to talk to him about.
He also knew how hard it was for someone to talk to their friend about their pain, and to ask their friend for help.
Finally, Old Man Zhang told him that horrible incident. LaoBo’s face turned green after he had finished listening.
Even though he did not agree to do anything, Old Man Zhang knew that he would treat this matter fairly, and would give those two bastards the punishment they deserved.
When Wu LaoDao left the study, he felt the same as Old Man Zhang – full of comfort and gratitude.
Fang YouPing felt the same. No matter who came here, they would not leave disappointed.
Then, there were some people who wanted to borrow money. After they had all left feeling satisfied, Lü XiangChuan walked into the study. He knew that LaoBo would give him the orders now.

Sun YuBo’s orders were always very concise.

“Get a couple of people to go to the Xu Fortress in three days. You don’t have to kill the Jiang brothers, but make sure that they won’t be able to get off their beds for at least three months.”

Lü XiangChuan thought for a while, and replied, “How about we get Wen Hu and Wen Bao to go? They have experience with matter like this.”

Sun YuBo nodded, “Get Sun Jian to deal with Mao Wei.”

Lü XiangChuan laughed; he knew what LaoBo meant.
When LaoBo let Sun Jian to go deal with someone, then that was like announcing that person’s date of death.

Then LaoBo said, “But ‘The Twelve Roc Sect,’ I need you to go there personally. Thousand Roc King is a difficult person to mess with. I hope that when you return, you can take that young girl with you.” He only gave orders, not explanations.

He only ordered you to go do something, and you had to succeed. Yet how you were to do it was your business.
Lü XiangChuan, of course, knew how difficult this task was. Yet he showed no expressions of difficulty on his face – anyone knew that he was willing to do anything for LaoBo.
The fact that LaoBo gave him the most difficult task showed that he thought highly of him.
When he thought of this, Lü XiangChuan’s eyes showed signs of gratitude.

As if he saw his heart, LaoBo smiled and patted his shoulder, and said, “You are a good kid. I wish that you were also my son.”

Lü XiangChuan tried hard to control his internal excitement, and said, “Han Tang came. He’s been waiting outside for a long time, he wants to say good-bye to you personally.”

When he heard the name “Han Tang,” LaoBo’s face suddenly fell, “He shouldn’t have come!”

Lü XiangChuan did not say anything; he could not say anything. Even he did not know what kind of person Han Tang was, nor did he know what his relationship with LaoBo was.
He rarely saw Han Tang. Yet whenever he saw this person, he could not help but feel a type of coldness rise from his heart.
He himself did not even know why.
Han Tang was not savage, nor was he ferocious. It was just that he always had this cold and detached expression between his brows; no one could get close to him.
He himself obviously did not want to get close to anyone. No matter where he was, he always stood far, far away. If anyone came within seven feet of him, he would immediately go farther away.
Except for LaoBo, no one had ever heard him speak.
Even in front of LaoBo, he rarely spoke. It was as if he only knew how to express his thoughts through action.
Lü XiangChuan could tell that he carried neither friendship nor love towards LaoBo, only respect. Everyone was LaoBo’s friend, except for him. He was like LaoBo’s slave.

Sun YuBo was silent for a long time. Finally, he sighed and said, “Let him in, now that he’s here.”

* * *

The second Han Tang walked into the study, he kneeled down and kissed LaoBo’s feet.
This kind of curtsy was not only exaggerated, it was also ridiculous.
Yet when Han Tang did that, no one would find it ridiculous. No matter what he did, people would not find it ridiculous.
Because when he was to do something, he would put his heart into doing that. That indescribable sincerity of his was not only touching, it often made people very afraid.
Sun YuBo calmly accepted his curtsy. LaoBo did not decline it, although he usually does not want others to bow to him. Lü XiangChuan did not understand why Han Tang was an exception.

LaoBo asked, “How have you been lately?”

Han Tang replied, “Well.”

LaoBo asked, “You still don’t have a woman?”

Han Tang replied, “No.”

LaoBo commented, “You should go find a woman.”

Han Tang said, “I don’t trust women.”

LaoBo smiled, “It’s not good to trust women too much, but it’s equally bad if you did not trust them. Women can make a man calm down.”

Han Tang’s head dropped. After a long time of silence, he said word by word, “I will still come next year. I only go out once in a year.”

Suddenly, LaoBo’s face showed signs of sympathy. Only he knew of this person’s pains; yet he could not help him, and did not want to help him.
For this he felt a deep guilt. Perhaps this was the reason he did not want to see Han Tang.
Han Tang had already turned around, and was slowly walking out.

Suddenly, Lü XiangChuan could not help but say, “There is no one in my room. If you want to stay for a cup of wine, I’ll keep you company.”

Han Tang shook his head, and walked out without even looking at him once.
Lü XiangChuan smiled bitterly. He suddenly realized that LaoBo was staring at him with a stern look.
LaoBo was rarely stern with him; he knew that he had done something wrong, yet he did not know what he did wrong.
He had rarely done anything wrong lately.

All of a sudden, LaoBo asked, “Do you feel sympathy for him?”

Lü XiangChuan dropped his head and nodded.

LaoBo said, “To be able to feel sympathy for someone is a good thing. You can feel sympathy for anyone, but you cannot sympathize for him.”

Lü XiangChuan wanted to ask “Why?”, but he dared not to.

Yet LaoBo answered his question for him, “Because if you sympathize for him, then he’d go mad.”

Lü XiangChuan did not understand.

LaoBo sighed and said, “In fact, he should have gone mad a long time ago, he even should have died a long time ago. The reason he can live until now, is because he thinks that everyone in this world don’t treat him well.”

Lü XiangChuan still did not understand. Finally, he could not help but ask, “What kind of person is he exactly? What kind of things did he do before?”

LaoBo’s face fell again and said, “You don’t have to know what kind of person he is. There are many things that you don’t have to know.”

Lü XiangChuan replied with his head dropped, “Yes.”

Suddenly, LaoBo took a long sigh, and said, “But I can tell you that no one has ever done what he did before. And I’m afraid that no one ever will.”

Lü XiangChuan, still with his head dropped, was just about to leave, when he suddenly heard a commotion from outside. There were people crying in fear – a monster had suddenly burst into the back garden.
It was not a monster that had burst into the garden – it was Tie ChengGang.
Except that he really did look very frightening.
There is almost not a single place on his body that was still whole.
Most of his hair had been burned to a crisp, and his face was also deformed from the burns. His eyes were blood red, and his lips were as dry as the cracked soil in a drought.
When he burst in, he resembled a beast being chased by hunting dogs. Faint pantings and hoarse shouts came out of his throat – almost nobody could understand whose name he was shouting.

He was shouting, “LaoBo!”

At this moment, Sun Jian was flirting with a woman that the Head Escort Hu of the Four Directions Armed Escorts had brought with him.
He did not know who this woman was. He only knew that this woman was not the wife of Hu LaoEr, and that she was a wretch, because she had been secretly making eye contacts with him.
He never resisted temptations from this kind of women. He always thought that to resist temptations from this kind of women was humiliating. He was just thinking of an idea to lure her to an unoccupied place.
Just then, he saw Tie ChengGang.

He had known Tie ChengGang for a long time; but now, he almost could not recognize this person. When he ran over and helped him up, he cried out involuntarily, “It’s you! How did you end up like this?”

He waved for some wine.
When the wine had flown into Tie ChengGang’s throat, his pantings became calmer. But he still could not speak.

Sun Jian saw the fear in his eyes, and said, “Don’t be afraid, now that you’re here, you don’t have to be afraid of anything or anyone. Here, no one would dare to touch a single hair on you.”

Just as he finished saying this, he heard someone saying lightly, “You shouldn’t have said that sentence.”

The person who spoke was Taoist Yi Quan - The Three Friends Of The Huang Mountains had already chased here.

Sun Jian asked, “Why can’t I say that?”

Yi Quan said, “Because no matter where he flees off to, we will take him away.”

Sun Jian said, “No!”

Yi Quan said, “Perhaps you still don’t know that he is a murderer – he killed his own uncle.”

Sun Jian said deeply, “I only know that he’s my friend, and that he’s wounded. I only know that he came here because he trusts me. So, no one should even think about taking him away.”

A vein popped up on Sun Jian’s forehead, “My father would say the same thing. Not even the emperor can take my friend away from here!”

Yi Quan angrily shouted, “How dare you! Not even your father would dare to be this rude to us!”

Suddenly a person said, “You’re wrong. His rudeness is genetic. His father might be even more rude.”

Although the speaker’s voice was calm, it contained an indescribable sternness.

Yi Quan asked, “How would you know …?”

Sun YuBo said, “Of course I would know, because I’m his father.”

Yi Quan was a bit in a daze – he had only heard of the name “LaoBo,” but had never met him.

Yi Yun said, “Alms Giver Sun probably do not know us Taoists, and that’s why you said something like that.”

Sun YuBo said, “No matter who you are, I would say the same thing.”

Yi Yun’s expressions changed, “I have long heard of the just ways Sun YuBo treated affairs. How can you defend a murderer today?”

Sun YuBo replied, “Even if he was a murderer, we should still wait until his wounds are healed. Besides, no one can prove that he is a murderer.”

Yi Yun asked, “We have seen it with our own eyes. How can that be fake?”

Sun YuBo replied, “You’ve seen it with your eyes, but I haven’t seen it. I only know that if he really was a murderer, he would not dare to come here.”

No one would dare to deceive LaoBo.
If someone deceived LaoBo, then that was like digging his own grave.

Yi Yun yelled, “You won’t even believe the words of The Three Friends Of The Huang Mountains?”

Sun YuBo replied, “The Three Friends Of The Huang Mountains are human, Tie ChengGang is also human. Here, no matter who, they all have the same rights to speak. I want to listen to his reasons.”

Suddenly, with all his might, Tie ChengGang yelled, “They’re the murderers! I have evidence. They know that I have evidence, and that’s why they want to kill me!”

Sun YuBo asked, “Where is the evidence?”

Tie ChengGang struggled to take out a pair of hands from his pockets – a pair of already dried up hands.
When they saw these hands, the colours on the faces of The Three Friends Of The Huang Mountains changed.

All of a sudden, Yi Shi screeched, “The killer must die! No need to talk anymore. Kill!”

His sword tends to be faster than his voice. A flash of sword light - it was aimed at Sun YuBo’s throat.
The swords of Yi Quan and Yi Yun were not slow either – their sword tips were aiming for Tie ChengGang and Sun Jian.
LaoBo did not move; he did not even move a finger.
Other people were showing signs of surprise and anger – almost everyone was running over here.
But they needed not to run over; they really did not need to do so. Yi Shi’s sword fell the second it lashed out.
The arm, with which he held his sword, was full of hidden weapons – thirty or forty different types of hidden weapons. They only had one thing in common – their speed.
Yi Shi did not even see where these hidden weapons came from. He only saw that a refined young man who had been standing behind Sun YuBo, might have lifted his hand.
The hidden weapons suddenly pierced into his arm.
He did not even feel any pain, because this arm was suddenly completely numb.
Sun Jian, as if he had turned into an angry lion, rushed towards Yi Quan. It was as if he did not know that Yi Quan was holding a sword, and that swords could kill a person.
When he was angry, he would dare to rush ahead empty-handed, even if an army was in front of him.
Yi Quan never thought that someone like this existed. In his surprise, the sword in his hand was grabbed by another hand – a hand made of flesh and blood.

“Deng!”

This fine smelted sword made of the best metal had been snapped in two.
Sun Jian’s hand was also bleeding. But he did not care about bleeding – as long as he can knock down his opponent, he did not care about anything.
Even Yi Yun was shocked into a daze and slowed down his sword.
Of course, the sword in the hand of this person would not be too slow. But just then, a person ran out of nowhere. No one clearly saw if he was tall or short, if he was fat or skinny. They only saw that he was wearing dark grey clothing.

But everyone heard the sentence he said, “If you are rude to LaoBo, then you die!”

These nine words did not need a long time to speak. But after these nine words were spoken, The Three Friends Of The Huang Mountains had turned into three dead corpses. The three of them died at almost the same moment.
At the moment this person came.
When he rushed over, the dagger in his left hand had entered Yi Quan’s hips.
The hand let go the second the dagger entered.
Before Yi Quan even had a chance to scream, this hand had formed into a fist, which hit Yi Shi’s face.
The second his fist shattered Yi Shi’s nose was also the second his right hand caught Yi Yun’s belt.
Yi Yun yelled and swung his sword. But he had been lifted up and thrown down before he could even make one strike.
His head had just hit Yi Shi’s head. Almost everyone could hear the sounds of their skulls smashing – that type of sound was supposedly only to be heard in hell.
Still no one saw the face of this man in grey.
When he threw up Yi Yun with his right hand, he smeared something on his face with his left hand. His face was immediately covered with the blood that had come out of Yi Shi’s nose.
He really did not have to do so. Everyone was in shock; there was no one who dared to look at his face.
Most people who came here were martial heroes. To martial heroes, it was not a big thing to kill two or three people. Yet everyone was still in shock.
The killing was not frightening, what was frightening was his methods of killing – fast, precise, cruel.
There was no one who could kill this fast, this precise, and this cruel.

* * *

Those dried up hands that Tie ChengGang had brought were holding on to a section of apricot-coloured sword tassel and a piece of blue cloth with a yellow copper button.
The sword tassel was identical to the sword tassels of The Three Friends Of The Huang Mountains; the piece of cloth was also identical to the cloth that was used to make their Taoist robes. But these were not important; it was not even important that they were the murderers.

The most important thing was: “If you are rude to LaoBo, then you die!”

No one disagreed with this sentence, and no one would forget it.
Especially Meng XingHun.
Just as The Three Friends Of The Huang Mountains died, Meng XingHun had left LaoBo’s chrysanthemum garden.
He needed not to stay.
Everything he had seen and heard was enough to tell him what kind of person Sun YuBo was.
His first step in assassinations was to try to figure out what kind of person the opponent was. As for other people’s affairs, he could wait to find out later on – he was not worried.
Now, there were still one hundred and thirteen days until the deadline Big Sister Gao had given him.
Now, he had begun the first step of the assassination.